Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- intransitive verb To grasp suddenly and forcibly; take or grab.
- intransitive verb To take by force; capture or conquer.
- intransitive verb To take quick and forcible possession of; confiscate.
- intransitive verb To focus the attention or intellect on.
- intransitive verb To make use of (an opportunity, for example).
- intransitive verb To have a sudden overwhelming effect on.
- intransitive verb To overwhelm physically.
- intransitive verb Law To cause (someone) to be in possession of something.
- intransitive verb Nautical To bind (a rope) to another, or to a spar, with turns of small line.
- intransitive verb To lay sudden or forcible hold of something.
- intransitive verb To cohere or fuse with another part as a result of high pressure or temperature and restrict or prevent further motion or flow.
- intransitive verb To come to a halt.
- intransitive verb To exhibit signs of seizure activity, often with convulsions.
from The Century Dictionary.
- To put in possession; make possessed; possess: commonly with of before the thing possessed: as, A. B. was seized and possessed of the manor; to seize one's self of an inheritance.
- To take possession of
- By virtue of a warrant or legal authority: as, to
seize smuggled goods; to seize a ship after libeling. - By force, with or without right.
- To lay sudden or forcible hold of; grasp; clutch: either literally or figuratively.
- To come upon with sudden attack; have a sudden and powerful effect upon: as, a panic seized the crowd; a fever seized him.
- To fasten; fix.
- Nautical, to bind, lash, or make fast, as one thing to another, with several turns of small rope, cord, or small line; stop: as, to
seize two fish-hooks back to back; to seize or stop one rope on to another. - Synonyms and To snatch, catch, capture, apprehend, arrest, take, attach.
- To lay hold in seizure, as by hands or claws: with on or upon.
- In metallurgy, to cohere.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- transitive verb To fall or rush upon suddenly and lay hold of; to gripe or grasp suddenly; to reach and grasp.
- transitive verb To take possession of by force.
- transitive verb To invade suddenly; to take sudden hold of; to come upon suddenly.
- transitive verb (law) To take possession of by virtue of a warrant or other legal authority.
- transitive verb obsolete To fasten; to fix.
- transitive verb To grap with the mind; to comprehend fully and distinctly.
- transitive verb (Naut.) To bind or fasten together with a lashing of small stuff, as yarn or marline.
- transitive verb to have possession, or right of possession
- transitive verb to fall on and grasp; to take hold on; to take possession of suddenly and forcibly.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- verb transitive to deliberately take hold of; to
grab orcapture - verb transitive to take advantage of (an
opportunity orcircumstance ) - verb transitive to take possession of (by force, law etc.)
- verb transitive to have a sudden and powerful effect upon
- verb transitive, nautical to
bind ,lash or makefast , with several turns of small rope, cord, or small line - verb transitive, obsolete to
fasten ,fix - verb intransitive to lay hold in
seizure , by hands or claws (+on orupon ) - verb intransitive to have a
seizure - verb intransitive to
bind orlock in positionimmovably ; see alsoseize up
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- verb take hold of; grab
- verb take or capture by force
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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If insurgents like the Taliban again seize power, do you think the women in any of those countries will fare better or worse?
Think Progress » “Even superpowers have to talk to bad guys,” 2006
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If insurgents like the Taliban again seize power, do you think the women in any of those countries will fare better or worse?
Think Progress » “Even superpowers have to talk to bad guys,” 2006
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We had no idea that this arcane "mother of all crimes" - ignored since World War II - would ever again seize public attention as it has recently, because of the conduct of John
Fonda 1999
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Prudence, her eyes on him, felt alarmed when she saw what must have been a twinge of pain seize his body and pass over his face.
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Elfrida began with "Ruin seize thee, ruthless King!" but there were parts of that which she liked best when there were other people about – so she stopped it, and began "Horatius and the Bridge."
The House of Arden Edith 1923
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"Look at 'Ruin seize thee, ruthless king!' and all the pieces of poetry about war and tyrants and slaughtered saints – and the one you made yourself about the black beetle, Noël."
The Wouldbegoods Edith 1901
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He desired that he might go along with Christ (v. 18), perhaps for fear lest the evil spirit should again seize him; or, rather, that he might receive instruction from him, being unwilling to stay among those heathenish people that desired him to depart.
Commentary on the Whole Bible Volume V (Matthew to John) 1721
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The only thing I seize is my pecker when I’m sitting at the computer.
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This may cause the chocolate to seize, that is, to clump up.
THE TANTE MARIE’S COOKING SCHOOL COOKBOOK MARY RISLEY 2003
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This may cause the chocolate to seize, that is, to clump up.
THE TANTE MARIE’S COOKING SCHOOL COOKBOOK MARY RISLEY 2003
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